An early morning wake this morning, 2am heading out to try catch a glimpse at the northern lights, again being stubborn they refused to give us a great show whilst the cloud coverage was minimal! Staying out till about 4:30 watching the sky I was more than ready for some sleep. And I managed a sleep in!! I woke early for a Skype session with mum and dad but they couldn't do it so I managed to get back to sleep for a couple of hours!
My first appointment of the day was at a small relatively new store in town called Irezumi Ink. I had previously gotten in contact with the owner Annel about getting a tattoo whilst I was in the country. What a great idea this was, both guys working there were great. Friendly, professional and funny. Annel did an amazing job on my tattoo and I am SO happy with it!! Definitely recommend then if you ever come to Iceland!! In the photo its only freshly done so still a bit red and swollen, I tried to get a better photo but its pretty hard to selfie your back..
My first appointment of the day was at a small relatively new store in town called Irezumi Ink. I had previously gotten in contact with the owner Annel about getting a tattoo whilst I was in the country. What a great idea this was, both guys working there were great. Friendly, professional and funny. Annel did an amazing job on my tattoo and I am SO happy with it!! Definitely recommend then if you ever come to Iceland!! In the photo its only freshly done so still a bit red and swollen, I tried to get a better photo but its pretty hard to selfie your back..
From here I began my afternoon of sight seeing and some more shopping! My first stop was Hallgrimskirkja, a huge but stunning church perched right on top of one of the many hills in town. It was amazing to go inside such a beautiful building with the high arched ceilings and the huge organs to the back. Then I also got the opportunity to head up the tower and experience what I would say are the best views of Reykjavik.
From here I headed downhill and towards shore to the Sun Voyager Sculpture. The sculpture is an ode to the sun. It is a boat of hopes & dreams and progress & freedom.
After another split nights sleep by this time in the afternoon I was pretty knackered, deciding to head back to the hostel i made a stop-over at the oldest and most famous hotdog stand in Iceland. I chose one with the lot, no mustard, not knowing what exactly "the lot" would be, but with fried onions and an amazing sauce it was a pretty damn good hotdog!!
My activity for this evening was probably the one I was looking forward to most whilst on my holiday, Dog sledding. I had discussed this tour/activity with a few of the aussies I met in Akureyri, they told me they had to do it in a cart not a sled as there wasn't enough snow. I was secretly praying for a heap of snow so I could have the proper sledding experience, as we climbed higher into the mountains I was relieved to see snow and quite a bit of it!!
We arrived and got to meet the dogs, all 36 of them. 10 minutes later they were all hooked up and barking like mad because they were more than ready to go, The guide said they can get pretty impatient!
This hour long sledding trip had to of been one of the best things I have done in my lifetime, the weather, the dogs, the guide and the scenery were absolutely perfect. To see how excited the dogs get to be pulling the sled along as a team is just amazing!! The dog breed they use with this company is a certain breed from greenland, they are not super fast but very strong and could pull a sled along in any sorts of conditions for 16 hours of the day. I honestly can't say much more about this, it was just bloody awesome!! Il let the pictures speak for themselves..
We arrived and got to meet the dogs, all 36 of them. 10 minutes later they were all hooked up and barking like mad because they were more than ready to go, The guide said they can get pretty impatient!
This hour long sledding trip had to of been one of the best things I have done in my lifetime, the weather, the dogs, the guide and the scenery were absolutely perfect. To see how excited the dogs get to be pulling the sled along as a team is just amazing!! The dog breed they use with this company is a certain breed from greenland, they are not super fast but very strong and could pull a sled along in any sorts of conditions for 16 hours of the day. I honestly can't say much more about this, it was just bloody awesome!! Il let the pictures speak for themselves..
Now i know you guys will all be green with envy after that, so this is where il leave you for the night, till tomorrow. xxx